


read the sign

by words_on_pages



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Gen, Harry is a zookeeper, Louis is a bit of a dick, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-09
Updated: 2015-05-09
Packaged: 2018-03-29 18:10:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3905851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/words_on_pages/pseuds/words_on_pages
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An "i work at the zoo and i s2g if you try to feed the birds another piece of cotton candy i will get you" AU</p><p>Inspired by punkrockmeluke's <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/or-if-yall-just-write-something-anything-really-you-should-lemme-read-it">fic prompt post</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	read the sign

“Harry.”

He ignores his name in favor of scraping the ground with a small rake in one hand and a scoop in the other. The sun is blistering hot today and he’d forgotten to bring his khaki shorts so now he’s suffering the heat and not very happy for it. As soon as this is done their next task is tending to the reptile exhibits which are indoors. Suddenly the idea of dropping mice in the snake terrariums sounds a lot more forgivable with air conditioning involved.

“ _Harry_.”

“What Ni? You know I’m trying to clean up goat poop here.” He glances up at Niall with a disgruntled frown. “The least you could do is give me a hand, if you’re gonna interrupt me.”

“I think he’s back.” Niall raises an eyebrow meaningfully and nods over by the geese and duck enclosure.

It’s always one of the more popular areas because they sell small bags of corn at an outrageous price so that little ones and adults alike can feed them. It takes him a bit of searching through the various groups and then his gaze sharpens on the guy Niall is referring to. 

Harry’s mouth tightens as he sweeps over the black chucks, red skinny jeans and black and white baseball tee, confirming his suspicions. He _is_ back.

“You’re not going to believe this, Harry.” Niall nudges him with his elbow. “He’s with those two little fuckin’ devils again.”

Harry’s eyes darken as he sees what they have in their hands. “Bloody hell.”

“Maybe they’ll see the doctored up signs?” Niall offers up hopefully.

Harry worries his bottom lip with his teeth. They had spent over an hour last weekend laminating hot pink borders to tape around the signs of that specific enclosure. The very _visible_ zoo signs all had a simple black and white image of a hand, pebbles of corn and a duck head and stated “Corn only please.” It was very clear. 

But he’s noticed one repeat visitor who never seems to bother paying attention to it. 

After weeks of Harry’s complaints, his supervisor, Paul, had finally relented and allowed him and Niall to work on the bright borders in the hopes that they would bring more attention to the signs. And it just so happens that the guy is standing right in front of one of them with the two kids. Harry watches while he ruffles one of the boy’s hair and points at the sign. 

He and Niall share a look and pleased smiles. “Hey I think it worked.”

The guy slaps at the border causing it to go askew and makes a face at the boys, clearly mocking what it says. Harry sees red, hands balling into fists at his sides.

“What a wanker.” Niall huffs in disbelief.

He continues watching the scene play out as his anger builds. The guy snags a small clump of cotton candy from one of the kids’ sticks and tosses it over the fence- the boys following suit.

“That’s it. I’ve had enough of this.” 

“Harry, no wait-“ Niall whispers furiously. “ _Harry.”_

He normally avoids confrontation. He doesn’t mind telling a kid here or there to stop tapping the glass, but adults especially make the situation ten times more awkward because well- they _should_ know better. Harry is not lacking in determination at the moment as he strides confidently to the enclosure. He’s livid.

He stops right before them and assembles a polite smile on his face, clasping his hands together behind his back.

“Excuse me.”

The guy turns around, eyes widening in surprise. “Um, hi.” He smiles hesitantly, but Harry can see his puzzlement as he takes in the zoo uniform.

He leans in and lowers his voice, “My name is Harry and I work for the zoo. Could you try following what the signs say? We would much appreciate that.”

There’s silence for a few moments while he just stares at Harry, his expression unreadable. “I’m Louis and these are my nephews Jack and James.”

Harry dips his head in a brief smile towards the boys, impatiently waiting for a response.

Louis’ eyes squint a bit. “Oh you mean this sign?” He grabs the hot pink border and it doesn’t take much of a tug before it comes completely off. Harry’s hands come up automatically as he drops it into his palms. “Sorry about that. Not sure who thought to make those. Doesn’t seem like it was the brightest idea, really.”

He blinks down at his hands stupidly. The next time he looks up he doesn’t stop the steely curve of his smile. “Yes, that sign. Right there.” He taps on it a few times. “The one that says _Corn Only Please.”_ He points at each word as he reads them. “We don’t take kindly to visitors feeding them anything else. It can damage their health.” 

His anger notches up further when Louis rolls his eyes. Right in front of him.

“It’s honestly not that big of a deal.” He snatches a bit of cotton candy from the stick and raises his hand to launch it over the fence.

Harry reaches out and curls his long fingers around his wrist, voice coming out hard and flat. “I swear to god if you feed the birds another piece of cotton candy I will have you escorted out.”

Louis tries tugging his hand free but Harry has him in a vice grip. Blue eyes flash at him “What the hell kind of power trip are you on, pal? I think I’d like to speak to your boss.” Louis makes an obvious show of looking at his name tag, “let him know that Harry is assaulting the visitors.”

“You can do whatever you want to me.” He replies calmly as he releases his wrist. “Just don’t hurt the animals. You think it’s harmless, but you don’t know how their digestive system works.”

He hesitates before deciding to continue with what he wants to say, “So follow the sign and stop being such a dickhead.”

A small smattering of applause catches his attention and he looks around, surprised. He’d completely forgotten that people were still milling around about them, let alone that anyone else was privy to what he tried to keep as a quiet conversation. The magnitude of what he’s just done hits him and he realizes he could get in a lot of trouble for it. If the approval of the crowd is anything to go by, he hopes nothing comes of it.

He turns and begins walking back to where Niall is giving him an obnoxious thumbs up, face incredulous. 

Louis’ voice isn’t loud behind him but it cuts through the crowd none-the-less. 

“Alright boys, let’s get a move on. That’s what you would call _Uncle Louis getting dragged by the hot zookeeper._ How about I’ll buy you a videogame on the way home if you promise not to tell your mum about this."

**Author's Note:**

> here is my [tumblr](http://words-on-pages.tumblr.com/)!


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